Roo let loose in parliament chamber

Forget kangaroo courts, a small roo has been on the loose in the lower house chamber of the South Australian Parliament.

Tourism Minister Leon Bignell cuddled the roo and then let it free while launching a tourism campaign.

The Best Job in the World project is modelled on a successful campaign previously run in Queensland.

For its part in the new national campaign, South Australia's Tourism Commission will search for an international visitor to become a wildlife caretaker in the state for a year.

The successful candidate will spend time on Eyre Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, hence the kangaroos enlisted for the publicity launch held in the parliamentary chamber in Adelaide.

As the kangaroo bounded around the chamber, someone hurriedly ensured the doors were shut to prevent any escape into the wilds of the city centre.

Eventually, the roo was grabbed and cuddled by Mr Bignell's ministerial colleague, Chloe Fox, possibly no stranger to Australian wildlife as her mother Mem is the much-loved author of the classic book, Possum Magic.

The latest national tourism campaign hopes to boost visitor numbers by having each state offer a plumb job to an international visitor aged between 18 and 30.